Metro network transport platforms must be compact, scalable, and agile to conquer the specific challenges of this key portion of the transport network. Growing and shifting traffic in the metro has triggered these challenges.

Today’s cloud-optimized metro network transport platforms “must” be:

Compact – with optimal power and performance in a form factor that meets metro operational cost targets

Scalable – to have the capacity you need when you need it to aggregate and transport multiple, high-performance services

Agile and intelligent – to dynamically reconfigure network resources to get services to your customers faster

Yesterday the FCC voted to issue a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding the application of some elements of Title II of the Communications Act to ISPs. With the courts having determined that the FCC cannot apply net neutrality under currently defined regulatory boundaries, it has decided to ask for a restructuring that may save or destroy the progress and innovation of IP communications in the US. It may save it by assuring ISPs cannot arbitrarily affect various applications or competitive products traversing their networks. It may destroy it by causing the same ISPs to determine they cannot afford to expand their networks if they cannot manage negative traffic impacts.

AT&T is threatening to halt or slow the rollout of U-verse IPTV and Verizon has joined them in complaining that the Third Way is unfair and unnecessary. A few weeks ago, I noted that AT&T has asked to decommission their TDM network within ten years.

As I sat this morning watching the live feed of the oil unleashed by British Petroleum (BP) in the Gulf of Mexico, I wondered about the role of IP communications in the event. Certainly, the reason that I can see the oil gushing out of the earth is because of the Internet. Most of what I read about the tragedy comes via Internet news sites and other IP sources. But, what role on a daily basis does the technology play?

I can't believe I missed two entries of blogs, especially when I had subjects to discussed. But first the weekend's food. My godson, Taylor, and goddaughter, Mackenzie, came to spend the week on Friday. The twins have been a part of life since their birth and to celebrate their arrival I had a BBQ on Sunday.

I didn't cook a lot this weekend as we decided to eat light on Friday and tried out a new restaurant on Saturday. Therefore, I knew that Sunday's dish had to be spot on as it, by default, would be the recipe of the week. I thawed some chicken over night with an idea to do something with it, pasta and gorgonzola cheese. However, Sunday morning, I got an inspiration to make the dish using mustard, lemon juice and cream.

Earlier this week the FCC announced that four out of five Americans do not know the speed of their broadband at home. Additionally, 91 percent considered the speed of their broadband to be sufficient for their needs. This is considered by some to be very revealing information. I for one look at it as "so what".

What a weekend for food! It began with a Tostada (fried corn tortilla covered with refried beans, spicy beef, cheese, chipotle cream and guacamole), French toast (with an apple sauce, honey and maple syrup), sweetbreads three ways (braised with mushrooms in a white wine sauce, deep fried with Panko crumbs and a remoulade sauce and grilled with a smoky BBQ sauce), and grilled tuna (with spicy soy sauce, a peach salsa and wasabi mash potatoes). Wow! I had little choice but to wonder what would be the most the most interesting of dish of the week.

Earlier this week I was sent an article discussing activity in congress to revise the Communications Act or more formerly the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The writer referred to the act as the "telecommunications bible". I thought about that for a bit and realized that a law would never be the telecom bible. For many of us, the telecom bible was called "Notes on the Network" published initially by AT&T.

The workhorse for digital communications beyond a private network has been the T1. The T1, which stands for Trunk Level 1, is a digital transmission link operating at 1.544 Mbps. For several decades, businesses have looked to T1s to provide their voice communications connectivity. However, as VoIP has evolved and grown in the marketplace. A channelized product, such as a T1 (24 voice channels), becomes an anachronism.

I was planning on a making a very special dish this weekend but was blindsided by a mother-daughter thing. My wife and her daughter decided to spend the day together at the Dallas Museum and, well, it's not really a lot of fun to cook just for yourself. So, Sunday, ended up being a very unoriginal day of cooking. However, I do have an original recipe for you.